Luminous devices based upon the use of contained, glowing electrical discharges through inert gases, especially neon, are well known. Neon signs, for example, are commonly seen in everyday use. Neon signs, however, utilize glass tubes bent to form the desired shape and contain electrodes at the ends of the glass tubes. Other devices which utilize gas discharges for producing illumination without using bent glass tubes are known or have been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 1,949,963 for example describes the use of multiple flat plates assembled to produce an inclosed channel which can act as a neon sign. In this case five glass plates are used, including solid front and back plates together with three middle plates which contain both channels and perforations between the channels. U.S. Pat. No. 1,825,399 utilizes only two glass plates together with the use of either engraved passages or tubular holes angled with respect to the plane of the glass plates to form the continuous gas discharge pathway. U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,501 also provides a flat-plate, gas discharge device which can be used in combination with both front and rear mirrors to produce a device which shows an infinite sequence of signs of ever decreasing intensity. None of these patents, however, disclose the process by which such devices can be produced in a semi-automated, economical, continuous manner. Yet it is precisely the invention of such an economical production process which will determine the ultimate widespread utility of such illumination devices.